Flemish White has a creamy, long consistency that makes it excellent in pure highlights composed primarily of lead sulfate.
In his Field's Chromatography of 1869, Thomas Salter identified Flemish white as lead sulfate (page 67). In Practical Treatise on Painting in Oil-Colours of 1795, "white precipitate of lead," which was sulfate of lead, was sold under the name "Flemish white." Before the nineteenth century, Flemish white was lead white made in Flanders. After that time, it was a precipitated lead sulfate, which derives from basic lead sulfate. We recreated Flemish White of the nineteenth century, which was a mixture of pigments consisting of lead sulfate, lead white (basic lead carbonate)) and magnesia (magnesium carbonate). Instead of magnesium carbonate, we substituted talc (magnesium silicate) because it has much less water sensitivity than magnesia.
Composition and Permanence| Flemish White | |
| Color: | White |
| Pigment: | Mixed pigment (See "Pigment Information" below) |
| Binder: | Linseed Oil |
| Additive(s): | None |
| Pigment 1 Information | |
| Pigment: | Lead Sulfate |
| Pigment Classification: | Synthetic inorganic |
| Colour Index: | Pigment White 2 (77633) |
| Chemical Name: | Tribasic lead sulfate (lead (II) sulfate) |
| Chemical Formula: | 3PbO·PbSO4 |
| CAS No. | 12202-17-4 |
| Pigment 2 Information | |
| Pigment: | Lead White |
| Pigment Classification: | Synthetic inorganic |
| Colour Index: | Pigment White 1 (77597) |
| Chemical Name: | Basic lead carbonate |
| Chemical Formula: | 2PbCO3.Pb(OH)2 |
| CAS No. | 1319-46-6 |
| Pigment 3 Information | |
| Pigment: | Talc |
| Pigment Classification: | Natural inorganic |
| Colour Index: | Pigment White 26 |
| Chemical Name: | Magnesium silicate |
| Chemical Formula: | Mg2[Si4O10][OH]2 |
| CAS No. | 14807-96-6 |
| Properties | |
| Code: | 811 |
| Series: | 4 |
| Opacity: | Opaque |
| Tinting Strength: | Medium |
| Drying Rate: | Medium |
| ASTM Lightfastness: | Not listed |
| Permanence: | A - Permanent |
| Safety Information: | DANGER! CONTAINS LEAD. HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED. Avoid ingestion and skin contact. Wear protective clothing and gloves to prevent contact with the skin. Never use near children or pets. Conforms to ASTM D 4236. DANGER |
For a detailed explanation of the terms in the table above, please visit .
Some separation of pigment and oil may occur in Rublev Colours Artist Oils and is a natural process when no wax or stabilizers are added to paint to prevent this from occurring.
All images of color swatches on this website are only approximations of the actual color of the oil paint. We have carefully matched the color in these pictures on calibrated color monitors to the actual color. However, your results may vary because of the wide variance in color monitors.
Color Swatch Note: The color swatch was created with a thick application (left side) of color and a tint (right side) made with equal parts of color and titanium white and applied on acrylic primed cotton canvas.
Drawdown Note: The image of the "drawdown" contains a pre-mixed paint film of 6 mils (0.006 inches) thickness applied to a standard test card to examine color consistency, opacity, and other qualities. The drawdowns show the full-color strength (mass tone) on the left and mixed in a 1:2 ratio with titanium white on the right. The bottom area of the drawdowns is scraped to show undertones.